


Blaze of Glory

by ZellieAlmasy



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mercenaries, Post-Apocalypse, Superpowers, antihero
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 16:17:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6122187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZellieAlmasy/pseuds/ZellieAlmasy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A selfish asshole with superpowers decides to try his hand at selfless acts of heroism, once he realizes how much praise and attention it gives him.  (Trying to write an actual story for the OC, instead of just random drabbles.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blaze of Glory

When Lorne first signed up for the Bloodskulls, he never expected bandit life would be so abysmally dull. It seemed so exciting at first. He finally had the freedom to grow his abilities and live life however he wanted, and he was sure that a gang with a name like “Bloodskulls” would give him a frightening reputation.

As reality would have it, however, it seemed that Lorne had set his expectations a bit too high. Over the years, he found there was nothing special about these bandits. They were just another ordinary gang terrorizing the wastelands, never daring to get near a major waystation, let alone a city. As Lorne grew older, even the name “Bloodskulls” began to sound like something a pathetic eight-year-old came up with, putting random scary words together in an attempt to sound cool. 

Every day felt exactly like the one before it. Nothing new ever happened. The gang did nothing to try and grow in power. Rival gang fights, highway robberies, salvage missions, more gang fights... It felt more like just surviving than actually living. 

The only excitement in Lorne's life was his girlfriend Ashe. She was really the only thing keeping him from abandoning the Skulls. They met shortly after he joined the gang. When they found that their abilities were compatible, they were always assigned jobs together. Ashe was able to manipulate smoke, though she was unable to create it. Lorne's more advanced ability of creating and manipulating fire made them an obvious fit for one another. Before long, they even found that their personalities were very similar, and they had been inseparable in all the following years. 

But Lorne had reached a point where he wasn't sure if she, alone, was enough to keep him around anymore. He was young, and truly believed he was in love. Separating from her would break his heart, yet living such an unfulfilling life was practically killing him. 

He sat on the edge of his cot one morning, eyes blankly following Ashe as she fussed around the small room, getting ready for their recent assignment. She washed her face in a basin of lukewarm water, and as she looked up, drying off with a small rag, she saw Lorne still sitting there in his briefs, still completely disheveled from sleep. 

“You planning to take on a military caravan in your undies, or what?” she snorted, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“No,” Lorne sighed, pulling himself to his feet as he snapped back to reality. “I'm just… tired, I suppose.” 

Ashe chuckled in response. “The way I remember, it's definitely your fault we didn't get much sleep last night.” She grinned mischievously and gave Lorne a light smack on his rear as he passed by to take his turn at the wash basin. 

That managed to get a little smile out of him, but he still replied with a shake of his head. “Not _that_ kind of tired,” he said as he started to wash up. “I mean, another caravan job? Aren't you sick of those?” 

“You and me are the best Skulls for attacking autos. You know that,” she replied indifferently as she quickly ran a brush through her short black hair. 

“That's not what I meant.” Lorne slowly continued to dress himself as they spoke. “We could be doing so much more. We don't need the Skulls any longer.” 

Ashe rolled her eyes with a frown. “This again? I told you, we can't leave.” 

“Yes we can,” Lorne firmly urged. He walked up to Ashe, placing his hands on her shoulders. “We'll just take the cargo and leave. It'll be too late before anyone realizes we're gone. Instead of giving Slider eighty percent, we keep it for ourselves. Imagine - from now on, you keep fifty percent instead of just ten.” 

With a serious look on her face, Ashe placed her hands on Lorne's chest and gently pushed him away. “You're lucky no one's caught you talking like this. Slider would have your head for thinking of running off with his merch, especially after he's been so good to the both of us.” 

Lorne just scoffed in response. “I'm not afraid of Slider. Who put him in charge, anyway? I could take over this whole damn gang if I wanted to.” 

“So do it!” Ashe threw her arms up impatiently. “If you're so big and tough, why haven't you done it yet?” 

“Because I don't WANT to be a bandit anymore!” He reached for Ashe again, taking her hands as he sank to his knees. “Please, Ashe, I am literally begging you. This gang is only holding us back. We can be so much more, just the two of us.” 

Ashe watched him with a weary expression on her face. “Babe. I love you, but I'm sick of this discussion. I tell you the same thing every time - it's not happening, and that's the end of it.” She pulled away and waved him off. “Now get dressed. We don't wanna miss rendezvous.” 

As she stepped away to finish getting dressed, Lorne sank back onto his heels. How could Ashe say that she loved him while brushing him off so easily? How could she choose this crappy way of life over him? Lorne's chest tightened in frustration, but on the outside, he forced himself back up on his feet with a smile. He couldn't let that anger show. At least, not before they completed their assignment. 

They both finished getting ready and briefly reported to Slider before heading out on their mission. This was always an easy job, no matter how much the military tried to defend against these attacks. Lorne and Ashe never left any survivors to report what had happened, so it was their investigators’ best guess as to what caused the exploded vehicles and, occasionally, scorched bodies. They tried several different defenses, from changing up their travel routine to equipping guards with EMPs. Lorne's favorite attempt was when they thought basic fire extinguishers would help. But they never seemed to suspect that an enhanced human might have been involved with these assaults. 

The pair of bandits walked along the side of an old highway, waiting for the caravan to come their way. Lorne's hands were shoved in his pockets as he absently kicked rocks out if his path. There wasn't anything else in the scenery worth holding his attention. Roads were cracked and crumbling, with weeds growing through the asphalt. Most other foliage was dying or already dead, and they were far enough from any major city that there weren’t even any old building ruins in the area. 

“You're quiet today,” Ashe commented after they had gone several minutes in silence. 

“What's there to say?” Lorne shrugged. “We've done this millions of times. There's nothing to discuss. We go in, do our usual thing, and get out.” 

“Someone forgot to pull the plug out of his ass this morning.” 

“Piss off.” 

Ashe only laughed at Lorne's obviously bad mood. “Seriously, babe, calm down.” She maneuvered in front of him, blocking his path. “It's a joke. You know I love you.” 

“Yeah. I know exactly how much you love me,” Lorne said with a little smirk as he allowed her to lean in for a quick kiss. 

“We should run into the caravan any minute now. I know how a good explosion always cheers you up, so come on. Let’s keep moving.” 

Without another word, Ashe hooked her arm through Lorne's and eagerly urged him along. They continued for a few more minutes until they finally heard the rumbling of vehicles in the distance. As the convoy approached, the vehicles came to a halt - three gunners, and the armored cargo van. 

“Halt!” The man in the lead turret called out to Lorne and Ashe. “State your business!” 

“Oh, thank heavens!” Ashe cried out to the soldiers in fake desperation. “We’re traveling merchants. Our caravan was taken by bandits! We’re so grateful you--” 

Her words were cut short as one of the vehicles suddenly combusted. The soldiers paused in a moment of panic, unsure what happened, until the leader suddenly cried out, “They’re enhanced! Open fire!” 

Ashe turned to Lorne, wide-eyed and angry. Before she could berate him, he spoke up for himself, “The ‘desperate traveler’ bit is so old. Let’s just be done with this.” 

There was no time to argue. What’s done was done, and Lorne and Ashe had no choice but to defend themselves. The soldiers were already warming up the turrets on the remaining two vehicles, and even more men filed out from the cargo truck, armed with automatic rifles. 

Just for fun, Lorne started off by targeting the turret ammunition, instead of simply just destroying the vehicles. Before any shots could be fired, the heavy bullets combusted seemingly on their own, which startled the gunners, causing one of them to even topple from the vehicle and onto the pavement. 

Meanwhile, Ashe took care of the other soldiers. The first explosion provided enough smoke for her to work with. She needed to put a bit more effort into focusing her ability than Lorne did, but she managed to work multiple tendrils through the soldiers’ mouths and nostrils. They were too busy desperately gasping for air to fire off any shots at the bandits. 

Lorne gave a hearty laugh as he finally ignited the remaining two gunner vehicles, making sure to keep the van in tact. With all three cars exploded, Ashe finally had enough smoke to completely engulf the remaining soldiers. When the fog finally dissipated, all of the men were either dead or passed out from suffocation. 

The two bandits picked up the soldiers’ guns and opened fire on the corpses to not only confirm their death, but also make it look as though they died in a gunfight. Lorne extinguished the remaining flames that hadn’t already died, and without fire, the smoke faded soon after. 

“You just HAD to rush in,” Ashe grumbled, now that the fight was over. 

“There’s no point in wasting time with your little act,” Lorne said as they walked to the van to check the cargo. “It’s the same thing every time. We know what we’re doing.” 

“Still, a little warning would have been nice.” 

Once they were satisfied that the equipment was there and undamaged, Ashe began walking towards the passenger side of the van. However, before she could reach the door, a wall of flame suddenly appeared between her and the vehicle, blocking her path. 

“Cute. Real hilarious,” she said flatly as she turned to glare at Lorne. “Can we just get out of here? We’ll sort out your attitude problem once we get this back to Slider.” 

“Slider isn’t getting one single piece of this cargo,” Lorne replied. “And if you still don’t care to split it equally with me, I am more than happy to keep it all for myself.” 

“Are you crazy?!” Ashe shouted. “I told you this would never work!” 

“You also said you loved me, but I’m starting to doubt the truth behind that too.” 

“It IS true!” she insisted. “Lorne, whatever this is, we’ll talk about it back home, just please, don’t do something you’ll regret.” 

“You’re still choosing Slider over me. Unbelievable,” Lorne chuckled derisively. “You know, I’ve already done something I regret - spending years by your side, thinking you actually cared about me.” 

“Dammit, Lorne!” Ashe called out, but Lorne was done arguing. The wall of fire spread out and encircled Ashe, leaving her completely trapped. If only there had been any smoke left, she might have been able to smother the flames, but this fire was fueled by nothing but Lorne’s will. 

If she was going to choose the Bloodskulls over Lorne, then he was done setting his own happiness aside just to stay with Ashe, when she clearly did not feel the same. He couldn’t bring himself to finish her off, though, so he simply walked away and entered the van on the driver’s side. The fire wouldn’t stay up forever. Once he moved far enough, he wouldn’t be able to maintain his flames, but by then, he would have put enough distance between himself and Ashe that it would be impossible for her to pursue him. 

Without saying another word to his girlfriend - now ex-girlfriend, apparently - Lorne started up the van and quickly drove off into the distance. Not for one instant did he ever feel the tiniest bit of regret for betraying his comrades, or even the woman he thought he loved.

**Author's Note:**

> Been toying around with this idea for a while. Here's just a little backstory to get the ball rolling. Let's just hope that ball keeps rolling!! 8);;;


End file.
